Interesting article by the CIO of UW Madison. They like to buy, but uncertainty in the vendor space is prompting them to look at open source again despite the maintenance gaps.

So why, given the challenges of maintenance and support, did I opt in to a collaborative open-source project last July? And why am I talking to my colleagues about another project that will require an even larger effort? Because, in short, I find the vendor situation so disturbing. But opting in to development is only the first step. As I opt in, I'm challenging all of us to believe in shared, open-source software�but to do so more completely. We need to develop creative collaborative solutions to the dilemma of maintenance and support in our shared software-development initiatives. I want to confidently recommend participation in the development and implementation of great mutual work. For me to do this at UW-Madison�and for all of us in higher education to do this across the nation and the world�we need to know how we are going to keep things going. And we need to figure this out very soon, or we will remain hostage to an increasingly hostile vendor environment. [EDUCAUSE REVIEW | November/December 2003, Volume 38, Number 6]